Night safe depository



Sept. 22,, 1931. ROBINSON 1,824,502

NIGHT SAFE DEPOSIIORY Filed May 25, 1928 4Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEm'BR I BY H'QJM: W a {/M @4141. ATTORNEY Sept. 22, 1931. H. J. ROBINSON NIGHT SAFE DEPOSITORY Filed May 25, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 /4 M2 4 .J .4. 'QV T7 I 9Q ip 0' D 03g, GAD

--H1||HH] 55 1 {I l g 50 '1 i .i l /0 l a W 3 J? P5 1 l a CD 0"- ,Q/ i@ T .5 k 1? 5 9; m 29 4'2 2 i1 M V 9 .29

30 07E 5 n sws L 5- [I I 2a lei so INVENTCJQR BY M41.

AM... ATTORNEY Sept. 22, 1931. H. J. ROBINSON NIGHT SAFE DEPOSITORY 4 Sheets-Sheet, 3

Filed May 25, 1928 INVENTOR: H: 9- m ATTORNEY p 1931- H. J. ROBi NSON 1,824,502

NIGHT SAFE DEPOSI'I'ORY HM: rave-:4. Q inda/4 ATTORNEY INVENTOR Patented Sept. 22, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 HARRY J. ROBINSON, or iaosron, mssncnusn'r'rs, AssIGnon T'O mm :MOSLER snrn company, or nmumon, OHIO; A oonronn'rron on NEW YORK imam sun nnrosrrony Application filed sta 25, 1928. Serial No. 280,470.

This invention relates generally to a night safe depository and more particularly to a safe arrangement for banks whereby money r and valuables may bedropped into a chute and conducted to a burglar and fire proof vault for safe keeping after banking hours.

Business mengenerallykeep their stores and establishments open for trade long'after the particular bank or trust company with which they do business is closed. After the days sales or business transactionsare over, the businessman is confronted with the problem of protecting thecash, notes or valuablestakenin, from the hazards of. stealth or'fire. The size of his business may not. warrant the-installation =o safe apparatus necessary to properly protect his property.

A distinct needtherfore arisesfor some suit able depositing facility for the business man conducting business after banking hours.

An object of. my invention is to provide a depositing facility especially adapted to be installed in banks which willhold in safekeeping. valuables deposited therein.

Another object of this invention'i's to'provide a night safe depository with an article receivingpassage having means to permit article insertions into the passage but preventing article removals therefrom.

36 .Another objectof this invention is t 'P vide a night safe depository havingmechanisnioperative toindicate when the article deposited in the conducting passage thereof has passed safely into the storage vault.

Another object of this invention is to provide a shutter device which will open an amount suiiiciently only to 'permit'thearticle deposited to pass and-then signal'such pass, ing to the depositor. a

Another object of this inventionis to provide a. night safe depository having a plurality of safety devices operating separately.

Another ob-ject of my invention is to provide a night safe depository'thatwill signal any unauthorized tampering therewith.

Another objectof-my invention is to providea night safe depository strong, durable, pleasing in appearance and affording a'high degree of protection against burglary and Further objects of my invention will become evident as the disclosure proceeds.

In order that a clearer understanding of this'invention may be had, attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application and illustrating certain possible embodiments of my invention.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a vertical crosssectional view of my night safe depository installed in a bank or other buildmg. I

Fig. 2 is a face view ofthe passage entrance structure with the door to the pas.- sage opened, and the covers removed from the signal light bulbs. i

Fig. 3 is another faceview of the passage entrance structure with the door to thepassage closed."

Fig. 41s a verticalcross-sectional view of theipassageentrance structure, taken on line H of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional View of the port-ionof the article passage showing the baflie plates therein in-c-nlarged outline.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the same, and is taken on'line 6-6 of Fig. 5. 1 I

Fig. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional-view of the housing, and is taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 5 p p Fig. 8 is a vertical. cross sectional view of a portionof the passage entrance structure showing a signal'light bulb positioned therein, takenon line 8-8 of Fig. 3'.

Fig. 9 is a wiring diagram of the signal deviceoperated by'the baiiie plates.

' Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view showinga modifiedmanner of locking the cover-plate to the housing; and

Fig. 11 is asectional view thereof, taken on theline ll-ll of Fig. 10,

Similar reference characters refer to simi lar parts throughout the several views of 7 the drawings.

Referring to Fig. 1, the article conducting passage of my night safe depositoryis shown installed in a wall 1 of a building and leads from a passage entrance on one side of the wall to a suitable storage vault 2" on the other side thereof. The storage vault is shown positioned in the basement of the building, with the banking floor 3 thereabove. It is understood, however, that the passage and vault positioned as shown in Fig. 1 is merely for the purpose of illustration and that the passage and its receiving vault may be positioned in a building, within the scope of this invention, in any place or in any manner convenient and desirable. 1

The passage and its receiving vault are suitably encased in reinforced concrete 4 to afford the greatest protection against burglary, theft and the hazards of fire. The receiving vault may be of the ordinary safe variety with an opening 5 at its top into which article conducting conduit 6 leads. Article conducting conduit 6 may be made of sheet steel or iron castings and is preferably square in horizontal cross-section.

The passage entrance comprises an elbow extension 7 and an entrance structure 8. The elbow extension? connects the upper end of conduit 6 to the. entrance structureS.

The body portion of the entrance structure may be integrally cast with an article entrance opening formed in the center and an elongated recess formed along the top,

bottom and-one side thereof. The article entrance opening as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is closed by a strong 'door 9 hinged at 10 to the body portion and provided with a suitable lock 11. Thetop recess 12. formed in thebody portion above the door is adapted to contain a pair of electric light bulbs suitably secured by means of brackets 14 therein. A pair of similar light bulbs 15 are secured with the bottom recess 16 below the door by brackets 17. Lead wires 18, 19, 20 and 21 pass through a wire conduit 22 and connect the respective bulbs to a suitable power source to form a closed electric circuit. Thus it is seen that in operation the bulbs in the top and bottom recesses burn constantly. Cover plates 23 carry suitable lettering illuminated by the light bulbs, to direct-depositors. The cover plates are removably secured over the respective top and bottom recesses by means of stud bolts 24 extending from the bottom of each recess and cooperating with screw caps 25carried by the cover plates as shown in Fig. 8. Transparent lettering-portions 26 may be used as shown more particularly'in Fig. 8. #These lettering portions are secured to the cover plate by means of screws 27 passing through avbacking plate 28 and the raised lettering portion, and into the cover plate.

The side recess 29 opposite the front edge of the door as shown in Fig. 4, likewise contains a pair of electric light bulbs 30 secured therein by means of suitable brackets 31. Lead wires 32 and 33 passing through wire 7 ,ondui 22 connect the respective bulbs to a ent disk-37 ofcolored glass may be fitted within an aperture in the cover plate and held in place therein by means of screws 38 and a backing plate 39.

A flange 40 formed on the body of the entrance structure cooperates .with flange 41 formed on the elbow extension to support the entrance structure in position. v

Elbow extension 7 may be also provided with lug formations 42 through which screw bolts 43 are adapted to pass to secure the entrance structure thereto.

A V-shaped article receiving bucket 44 is positioned to pivot about its apex within the elbow extension 7 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Roof portion 45 of the elbow extension is of such curvature that at least one wall of. the bucket will keep the passage always coin-. pletely closed. WVhen thebucket is swung outwardly toits greatest'exte nt, as shown in Fig. 1, the rearwall 46, completely closes the passage. Vhen the .bucket is swung rearwardly to its greatest extent, the front wall 47 closes the passage, as shownin dotted lines Fig. 1. Thus it is seen that nomatter in whatposition of swinging movement the bucket may be, thepassage is always kept closed thereby and no implement or device can be inserted beyond the bucketinto the article conducting passage. The bucket may be provided with a suitable handle 48 for tilting the bucket forwardly or rearwardly.

Some distance below the bucket 44 a series of bafile plates 49, horizontally aligned, are pivoted for swinging movement within the passage. One end of each baffle plate is preferably positioned in a suitable housing 50, secured by means of bolts 51 to the side of the article conducting conduit 6, and project through an opening 52 in the conduit as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. A rod 53 extendl'ng horizontally across the housingis fixed to the side walls thereof. Baflie plates 49 are journaled to rod 53 through weight blocks comprising clamping portions 54 and55 between which the rod extends. A screw 56 may beused to secure each upper clamping portion 54 to its respective baffle plate and a clamping bolt 57 used to removably hold each lower clamping portion 55 in position.

with the oppositesidewallof the article con ducting conduit 6. It is thus seen that the conduit is. normally kept closed, and? only opened by the. weight of an article striking 5 v the baflle. plates from above.. They then pivot downward suiliciently to permit the ,9; ing. a Each switch device is preferably mount- T article to slide through. Since the plates pivot about rod 53.- independently, such. a

number of platesionly will swingdownward' 9. lyas necessary topermit the article dropped into, the conduit to pass. Furthermore, as

shownin Figs. 1 and 5,.it. is seen that, articles are permitted to pass through the-bafile plates in a.dow-nward direction only,,any article or 3 device'striking the. platesfrom underneath would only inovefthe plates to passage C105? ingposition. I

An electric, switch device is positioned under each bafile plate weightgwithinthe cased. ona suitable block 59 secured within the casing. and comprises an electric terminal 60 overlying terminal 61. Theterminals are insulated from each other by suitable insulating material 62. Lower terminal 61 resiliently overhangs the block 59. The'lower terminal is normally depressed and held out of electric contact. with contact point 63. of the upper terminal 60 by the weight of the baflle plate blocks resting on contact block 64 carried on the endof'the lower terminal.

W'ires 32 and 33 leading from: the light bulbs are joined to a common conductor 65 which passes through wire conduit 22 i heretofore described. Conductor 65 leads into the housing and is connected to one of the. terminals of each switch device. The other terminal of each switch device is connectedto a wiref66 leading from the housing v Q through electric conduit 67 to a suitable power source. It is thus seen that each switch device is connected in; series arrangement with." the light bulbs 30 in the article entrance structure. The'closing of anyswitch 'iii in'the series therefore functions toclose the electric circuit and light the/bulbs 30, as illustrated in Fig. 9. It'is understood that a slight downward movement or disturbance of any of the baflle plates 49 projecting into the article conducting passage-will tend'to slightly relieve the weight from its corresponding switch terminal 63. This will permit the lower terminal 61 to spring into elec trical contact with the upper terminal of the switch device to close the electric circuit ifqth'e size; of 'thez 'e ntering article demands, asshown in dotted lines Fig. 5. i

The enclosure ofthe switch devices and weighted ends of the battle plat-eswithin the housing 50 prevents any unauthorized tampering therewith bymeans of devices inserted through the conducting passage. Electric conduit22may be securedat one end t'o the back of the article entrance structure; as shown in Fig. 4,.andsecured at its other end to an. ollset portion 68 of the housing,. as shown in Figs. '6 and 7. A suitable cover plate 69-is removably secured to the housing 50 by means of bolts 7 0, permitting access to the housingfrom the inside of the building to adjust or repair the mechanismcontained' therein. The" passageto the storage vault may be given'one or morereverse cu-rves if desired as added protection against the intrusion ofburglar implements therethrough.

Apreferred and modified constructionfori securing cover plate 69.to the housing is il-v lustrated in Figs. 10 and 11. In th'is pre ferred construction, the cover plate can only.

be renioved by first gaining access to the storage-vault 2 through 1ts door and unlocking the cover plat-e from the interior 'of the vault. To this end, I provide a U shaped locking bar having a bottom cross bar 71 and side bars 72 and 73. A plurality of longholts preferably permanently secured to-the cover plate 69 and are of such length'as to extend through the housing 50. Each bolt'is provided with an enlarged head 75 at its-inner end. The inner end of each bolt projects through an elongated; slot 7 6 in the side bar. Each slot- 76 terminates-in an enlarged opening 77 of such size as to permit the head75 of the bolt projecting therethrough to slip through the enlarged opening when the U- barhas been moved to the proper position. A plurality of screws 7 8 extend through elongated slots 7 9 in the side bars 72 and 73 and into the wall of chute 6,- securing the U-bar against removal-but permitting a slight vertical sliding -movement "thereof. Guide members 80 in the form of metal li'ctubes' secured within the housing'may be provided to guide the bolts 74 into position. The outside plates 49 are spaced apart from the ad-' joining plates sufficiently topermit the side bars'72 and 73 to extend freely t-herehetween. Thickeiied washers 58" maintain the outside plates in prop'er spaced position.

As shownmore-clearly in Fig. 11, the U-] bar projects into the interior of vault 2 a short dista'nce. Itis seen that by, gaining ac-f cess to thevault through its door the hand can be inserted into thevault'and a lifting force exerted upon the U-bar. The U-bar is thus lifted until bolt heads 7 5 can be disengaged from their respective slots 7 6 and '74 (four being shown in the drawings) are let its 7 lit slipped through the enlarged openings 77.

Theicover plate can then be removed. Thus it is'understood that means have been provided' by which cover plate 69 can only be removed by. gaining access to the vault through the vault door and valuables cannot be removed from the vault by any unauthorized access thereto through the housing 50.

Preferably each depositor is provided with a key by means of which he may unlock outer door 9, although a combination lock may also be used within the contemplation of this invention. Having opened the door 9, the de bucket is then tilted rearwa-rdly, dumping the article into the conducting conduit 6,

down which it slidesand drops. hen the article strikes the bafile plates 49 in its doWnward movement, bulbs 30 in the entrance structure are illuminated. The article finally lodges safely within the storage vault 2. Even though outer door 9 is opened, bucket 44 prevents the entrance of burglar tools and appliances into the passage and vault at all times. Both the bucket 44 and the bafiie plates 49 prevent withdrawals through the passage. Furthermore, any passage of articles or tools into the passage will be signalled by bulbs 30, giving notice to anyone in the vicinity that either deposits are being made or the apparatus is being tampered with in an unauthorized manner. Thus it is seen that a number of safety devices are incorporated in my depository, insuring the greatest protecti on to the valuables deposited.

As many changes could be made in the above arrangement, and as many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings should be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim is 1. In combination with a deposit vault, an article conducting passage leading thereto, a series of battle plates hinged for swinging movement in said passage, an opening in said passage through which access can be had to adjust said bafiie plate when necessary, a closure member for said opening, and means operative from the interior of the vaultfor locking said closure member in place to pre- I vent unauthorized tampering with said battle plates, said means including a stud projectrack member vertically reciprocable from the interior of the vault to place the same into and out of engagementwith said stud.

2. The combination with a deposit chute having a wall, a housing on the exterior of said wall, means mounted in said housing and extending into the chute permitting articles .to pass through the chute in one direction j ing inwardly from said closure member, and j only, a co'ver plate for the housing, and means, including a member extending from the cover plate into the chute and a coacting locking member mounted on the interior of said chute wall, whereby. said cover plate is locked in place on said housing.

8. The combination with a deposit chute having a wall, a housing on' the exterior of said wall, means mounted in said housing and extending into the chute permitting articles to'pass'through the chute in one direction only, a cover plate for the housing, and means, including recessed members secured to the cover plate and extending into the chute and locking members mounted on the interior of said chute wall and adapted to engage in the recesses of said recessed members, for locking said cover plate in place on said housing.

4. The combination with a deposit chute having a wall, a housing on the exterior of said wall, means mounted in said housing and extending into the chute permitting articles to pass through'the'chute in one direction only, a cover plate for the housing, means, including a member extending from the cover plate into the chute and a coacting locking member mounted on the interior of said chute wall, whereby said cover plate is locked in place on said housing, a depository into which the chute delivers articles passed therethrough, and means accessible only within the depository, whereby said coacting locking member may be adjusted to release said cover plate 'for removal from the housing.

5., The combination with a deposit chute having a wall, a housing on-the exterior of said wall, means mounted in said housing and extending into the chute permitting articles to pass through the chute in one direction only, a cover plate for the housing, and means, including a member extending from the cover plate into the chute and a coacting locking member mounted on the interior of said chute wall, whereby said cover plate is locked in place on said housing, a depository into which the chute delivers articles passed there-' through, and said coacting locking member having an extension disposed within the depository, whereby said locking member may be adjusted to'release said cover plate for removal from the housing.

6. The combination with a deposit chute having a wall, a housing on the exterior of said wall, means mounted in said housing and extending into the chute permitting articles to pass through the chute in one direction only, a cover plate for the housing, means, including recessed members secured to the cover plate and extending into the chute and locking members mounted on the interior of said chute wall and adapted to engage in the recesses of said recessed members. for locking said cover plate in place on said housing, a depository'into which the chute delivers articles passed therethrough, and a releasing member disposed Within the depository and connected to said locking members, whereby said locking members may be disengaged from said recessed members to release said cover plate for removal from thehousing.

This specification signed and witnessed this 12day 0fMay,1928. V

HARRY J. ROBINSON. 

